Four held for robbing liquor shops

A STAFF REPORTER

Police on Wednesday arrested a gang of four for looting several foreign liquor shops. CCTV footage from one of the shops helped the cops bust the gang.

The gang of four used a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga for the robberies. “The mastermind of the gang, Sanjay Singh, has claimed he bought the Ertiga six months ago after he won a lottery. However, we suspect that the vehicle was bought with the money he made by robbing stores,” said a senior police officer in Lalbazar.

The gang robbed at least two foreign liquor stores and attempted to break into another last month. According to police records, the gang robbed a shop at Tiljala last month and another one in Gariahat on January 3. They also tried to rob a shop in Kasba the same night but failed.

The other members of the gang have been identified as Pradip Roy, Toofan Das and Mithun Chakraborty. All four are from Purulia but Singh and Roy recently shifted to Bandel in Hooghly.

Police, acting on a tip-off, arrested Singh and Roy from Bandel early on Wednesday and the rest in successive raids later during the day.

“Das and Chakraborty tried to rob an automobile showroom in Howrah around 2am on Wednesday. They broke into the shop unaware that a few employees were still inside. They managed to escape but we arrested them in the morning, acting on information extracted from Singh and Roy,” the officer said.

Police said the gang, apart from raiding shops, had stolen 35 digital cameras from an electronics gadget showroom in Santragachhi last month. A shovel that they used to break shutters, and Rs10, 000 have been seized.

All four have been remanded in police custody till January 17.

Shop looted

Gold jewellery worth over Rs 1 lakh was burgled at gunpoint near Sodepur on Wednesday evening. Police said two men, who came on a bike, entered the jewellery shop on Station Road in Agarpara and escaped with the ornaments.